The Twelve Dilemmas of Christmas
by MetalPrincess13
Summary: The holiday season comes with good times and bad. It's important to overlook the dilemmas and enjoy the good times. 12 holiday drabbles... Palletshipping, egoshipping, pokeshipping, Gary/Tracey, and possibly more to come. Currently updating.
1. Dilemma One: Decorations

**The Twelve Dilemmas of Christmas**

The holiday season comes with good times and bad. It's important to overlook the dilemmas and enjoy the good times. Multiple shippings.

x … x … x

_**Dilemma One: Decorations (Palletshipping)**_

Gary had many issues with Christmas, just one of which was the obsession people seemed to have with decorating for the holiday. Not only did many of the decorations look despicably tacky and childish, something always seemed to go wrong. It never failed – something happened every single year since he was perhaps three years old. His sister referred to it as the Oak Family Christmas Curse, and Gary whole-heartedly agreed with that title.

When he was three, his father had nearly caught the house on fire when he left the lights on the tree on all night, effectively – and literally – lighting the tree at about four in the morning. There was the time when his father's Growlithe knocked over the tree, nearly crushing a four-year-old Gary. And who could forget the time May Oak snuck downstairs in the middle of the night to meet Santa Claus, only to trip over a loose cord for some Christmas lights at the top of the stairs causing her to tumble down the stairs, pull all of the lights off the banister, break their mother's expensive nativity scene, and somehow knock all of the stockings into the fireplace. That was the second time the holiday season had been tainted by a fire in the Oak house. Then there was the time when Gary was seven and their pet Meowth choked on a piece of tinsel… Poor Shadow had been the only cat Gary had ever liked. Needless to say, he now hated tinsel with a shocking passion.

Family curse or no, Gary felt a shiver of something akin to fear when Ash appeared one afternoon with several strings of lights and a ladder; his ever-present Pikachu was on his shoulder holding a box of nails and a hammer.

"What exactly are you doing?" he asked warily.

Ash responded with his signature grin. "Christmas is in two weeks and we don't have any lights on the house," he said as if it all made sense. "We'll be the only ones in the neighborhood with no decorations." Pikachu squeaked his agreement and Gary groaned, wondering if he should call the ambulance now or wait for the inevitable accident to happen before doing it. Ash seemed to understand the groan and crossed his arms as best as he could while holding everything. "I can do it, Gary; I don't care what you say." The challenge in his voice was undeniable.

Shaking his head, Gary shuffled the lab paperwork that he was working on at their kitchen table. "I didn't say anything."

"You thought it," Ash pressed. He shifted his arms and promptly dropped all of the lights that he was holding.

Gary glanced down at the lights scattered across the floor and looked back up at his boyfriend. "Are my thoughts unwarranted?" he asked pointedly.

Ash huffed as he scooped up the lights. "I hate you," he complained.

"That's not what you said last night."

"Fuck you, Gary" Ash replied, heading towards the front door.

"That's a lot closer to what you said last night," Gary muttered. A thought occurred to him and he stood quickly, rushing to follow Ash. "Bring Blastoise with you! My grandfather will kill us if we burn down the house!"

"Thanks for the confidence," Ash said sarcastically as Gary attached Blastoise's pokeball to his belt.

Once Ash went outside with Pikachu and their decorating supplies, Gary headed back to the kitchen, where his work was currently spread across the table. Getting back to work was easy enough, but Gary simply couldn't shake the concern that something bad would happen. Despite this concern, a couple of hours passed without major incident – there had been a few loud bangs and thuds, a few yelps, but nothing too alarming.

Just as Gary was starting to think that Ash was out of the red zone, he heard the loudest bang yet, followed by the sound of a water attack hitting the side of the house. He let out a shaky breath and waited, silently hoping everything was alright. A moment later, he could hear Blastoise being recalled and Ash talking to Pikachu, so he figured all was well. Then Ash walked in some time later.

His boyfriend was dripping wet and shivering violently, but grinning enthusiastically. "I'm done!" Ash announced happily, his declaration accented by a dramatic shiver as his teeth chattered noisily.

"Ash, what the hell happened?"

"Nothing major. Do you want to see the lights?"

Gary gaped at him for a moment before finally finding words to respond. "Get upstairs and take those wet clothes off before you freeze!" He took a deep breath as soon as Ash left the room and suppressed a sigh. "Why couldn't I have dated someone with _some_ sanity?"

Regardless of how much Ash's antics frustrated him, Gary realized rather quickly that he had just commanded his boyfriend to undress. Perhaps he could use this to his advantage…

Gary hurried up the stairs and found a trail of sopping clothing heading towards the bedroom; he couldn't help but grin. The grin widened as he entered the room and found Ash nestled in the blankets on the bed, his body completed concealed by the blankets.

"You didn't say what to do after I got out of my wet clothes," Ash explained innocently. "I was hoping you could warm me up."

Gary's grin faded into a fond smile as he approached the bed, slipping his clothes off as he went. "Tell me," he began as he climbed onto the bed. "Did you plan this out all along?"

Ash shook his head. "You're the one that plans ahead."

A soft chuckle escaped Gary as he slipped under the blankets on the bed and covered Ash's body with his own. As he claimed Ash's lips with his own, he had to think to himself, perhaps Christmas decorations weren't all _that_ bad. At the very least, the Oak Family Christmas Curse hadn't shown its face this year – _yet_.


	2. Dilemma Two: Buying Gifts

**The Twelve Dilemmas of Christmas**

The holiday season comes with good times and bad. It's important to overlook the dilemmas and enjoy the good times. Multiple shippings.

x … x … x

_**Dilemma Two: Buying Gifts (Pokeshipping)**_

There had once been a time when Misty could give Ash the simplest thing in the world and he would lose his mind over it out of sheer excitement. Those days had since passed. It wasn't that Ash wouldn't be excited over whatever Misty gave him, but she couldn't bear to just give him something simple these days. These days, it seemed important to her that she get her best friend, now husband, something meaningful – something truly special.

Misty grumbled as she left the trainer supply store near the gym in Cerulean City. She hadn't found anything particularly special there and was eager to move on to the next store. Unfortunately, a glance at her watch informed her that time had run out. She had a doctor's appointment in less than a half hour and it was easily a fifteen minute walk to the office; shopping for Ash would have to wait. It would do no good to miss this appointment and worry Ash even more than he had been lately. Misty had been sick for over a week, oddly, it always seemed to fade after she had been awake for an hour or so. It was inexplicable, especially since she was in good health; so, to the doctor's she went.

She had never cared much for doctors and being sick this close to Christmas was nerve-wracking. At least her doctor was usually on time; she would likely be in and out quickly.

It was well over an hour later before Misty left the office, a grin on her face, a list of specialists in her hand, and not a single step closer to finding Ash a Christmas present. She had been sure that this mysterious illness was nothing major, which was most certainly not the case, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it was fantastic: the exact thing that she and Ash had been hoping for.

She was two months pregnant.

After over a year of failed attempts, they had all but given up. Apparently they had done something right recently.

Still hoping to find a good gift for her husband, Misty wandered into a nearby store and aimlessly meandered around. In the back of the store, something caught her eye. It was a picture frame. A beautiful silver picture frame with a sculpted baby carriage on the bottom and the word "baby" spelled out next to it. There was nothing materialistically special about the frame but she was struck with an idea that she just knew Ash would absolutely love – even if it was just the meaning behind it that he loved.

After buying the frame and a box for it, she headed home. Over an hour of work later, a beautifully wrapped box addressed to Ash was nestled safely under their Christmas tree just before he returned home from the gym where he and Misty were now co-gym leaders.

"What did the doctor say?" Ash asked almost immediately after greeting and kissing his wife.

Misty gave a small shrug and nonchalant smile. "Nothing major. It's just a bug that's going around; should be gone soon enough."

"Good," Ash replied, smiling his usual grin. He didn't suspect a thing, which made Misty happy.

She couldn't wait for Christmas to come so that she could give Ash the gift. It was doubtful that the holiday could come fast enough.

x … x … x

To be continued…


	3. Dilemma Three: Mistletoe

**The Twelve Dilemmas of Christmas**

The holiday season comes with good times and bad. It's important to overlook the dilemmas and enjoy the good times. Multiple shippings.

x … x … x

_**Dilemma Three: Mistletoe (Gymshipping)**_

"I win!" a happy cheer shattered the moment of silence that had just ensued in the gym.

Brock smiled and recalled his defeated Marshtomp while his younger friend danced around happily on her side of the battle field. Politoed hopped out of the water and began dancing along with the young woman; Brock couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous sight.

"Loser!" Misty called playfully, sticking her tongue out. It had been a tough battle, one that Misty had initiated, and one that Brock wasn't the slightest bit embarrassed about losing. Hell, if losing the battle meant he got to see Misty dance around like this, he might start losing more often.

As Brock walked around the edge of the pool, he was struck by how little, yet at the same time, how much, the girl had changed over time. They had fallen out of touch for some time, particularly while he was out traveling with Ash, but Brock had put an end to that when he surprised Misty by showing up at the Cerulean Gym on her twentieth birthday with a pokeball containing a Vaporeon that he had rescued from a cruel trainer. He had felt that Misty would be the best trainer for the Vaporeon and knew that she would love it. Now, barely two months later, they were unseparable: Misty, Brock, and Vaporeon – who was currently sunning herself in a patch of sun pouring in through a window, watching with amused eyes.

Brock and Misty were the same as ever, yet different. Misty had noticed that Brock had matured more, suddenly not as girl crazy – he could even have a conversation with her sisters without drooling. Progress indeed. He still looked the same and still acted the same, other than that one detail. Misty had also matured, she had grown sweeter, less moody, or perhaps it was just that Ash wasn't around to annoy her…

Regardless of the reason, Brock found this newer Misty to be… alluring. She was sweet and funny, childish at times (such as now), yet still a mature young woman. She had changed the most, physically especially. She was no longer the scrawny teen Brock had originally met, but an athletic beauty. It was a different type of beauty from her sisters, who always seemed to be done up as though they were stepping on to a red carpet. Misty's was a natural beauty: occasionally accented by a touch of eyeliner, a dab of lip gloss. Her hair, barely a couple inches longer than he had always known it to be, framed her face perfectly.

Brock shook his head slightly – this was Misty, his best friend and practically his little sister. Admiring her like _that_ was going a bit far.

"Good battle, Mist," he grinned.

Misty looked up at him with a bright smile. "Excellent battle," she agreed. "That's the most work Dewgong has ever had to do to take down a rock-type."

A proud smile curved Brock's lips. She was referring to the first round of their battle, during which Onix had stood his ground magnificently. "Your Gyarados had gotten strong," he commented. "Ash would be impressed."

"Having strong pokemon is the only way for a girl to impress Ash," Misty replied mirthfully. "That boy has to be asexual to focus so much on pokemon all the time."

"Who knows with Ash."

They both laughed at that and Brock couldn't help but appreciate the way her eyes lit up with laughter. The laughter was cut off abruptly as Misty's Gyarados exploded out of the water at the edge of the pool, his massive head hovering just over them. Misty crossed her arms and scowled at her pokemon.

"Gyarados!" she scolded him. "Wait, what do you have in your mouth? Is that _mistletoe_?" She reached for his mouth but he reared up higher, out of even Brock's reach.

Brock looked up at Gyarados' mouth and, sure enough, there it was. Resting on the water type's tongue, perfectly visible, was a large green sprig accented with white berries. It was drenched with water but it was unmistakably mistletoe.

"Gyarados, give that to me right now," Misty continued to scold. It was a lost cause, she already knew it. This was easily her most stubborn pokemon wasn't likely to give up the sprig without a fight and there was no way she was sticking her hand in his mouth to pull it out. It didn't seem like Brock was particularly eager to do so either.

"Well," Brock sighed. "You know the tradition." He knew as well as Misty that Gyarados wasn't giving up the sprig. Damn stubborn pokemon.

Misty sighed and turned to Brock. "We don't have to," she insisted. Gyarados gave a deafening roar at the statement, causing both gym leaders to jump. A few feet away, Vaporeon barked at them. It was a short bark with a straight-forward message.

_Get it over with, already!_

Surprised by his own actions, Brock moved forward and pressed a gentle kiss against Misty's lips. He didn't know why he did it, it just happened. Any argument escaped Misty when she felt Brock's lips on her own.

They froze for a second, neither having expected this to happen. Misty reacted first, and perhaps most surprisingly, by kissing him back. Her hands slid up his arms, coming to a rest at the back of his neck as her lips softly caressed his own. Finally snapping out of his surprised stupor, Brock wrapped his arms around her, savoring the sweet kiss. Kissing Misty was better than kissing any other girl. She fit perfectly into his arms and her lips were as soft as could be, tasting faintly like peppermint, no doubt because of the holiday lip gloss she wore.

They pulled away slightly after a moment and Brock couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "Merry Christmas," he said a bit sheepishly.

Misty giggled softly. "Merry Christmas, Brock," she whispered, leaning forward to claim his lips once more.


	4. Chapter Four: Christmas Music

**The Twelve Dilemmas of Christmas**

The holiday season comes with good times and bad. It's important to overlook the dilemmas and enjoy the good times. Multiple shippings.

It figures the longest drabble so far is for my favorite pairing. Enjoy!

x … x … x

_**Dilemma Four: Christmas Music (Gary/Tracey)**_

Tracey loved the holidays, any holiday really. The one he loved most though, was Christmas. The colorful lights, the trees, the gifts. Even the Stantler-led sleigh decorations that Professor Oak had placed on the lawn. He thought they were funny, a bit cute even; Gary, on the other hand, felt they were tacky and had not hesitated in vocalizing his opinion. No one had really taken it seriously– in fact, May Oak and the professor often placed bets on how long it would take the young researcher to complain about the decorations. It was no secret that Gary was not particularly fond of Christmas: his morbid fondness for zombies and heavy metal made him far more partial to Halloween. Regardless of his lover's less-than-fond attitude towards Christmas, Tracey adored the holiday. There was only one thing about Christmas that he absolutely could not stand.

Christmas music.

It was annoying, it was obnoxious, it was horrendous. Perhaps he had been forced to sing in too many elementary school recitals, maybe it was that his mother played the same Christmas album throughout his entire childhood, maybe it was that since he had moved to Pallet, he had to deal with May Oak's terrible renditions of the songs on piano every year. Or maybe Gary had just rubbed off on him over the past few years of their lengthy relationship and even longer friendship.

Any which way you sliced it, Tracey despised Christmas music.

In the next room over, he could hear the piano tinkling an off-key tune and he wondered how long it would be before Gary found a less-than-polite way to remind May that Christmas music was usually played in a major key, not her version of harmonic minor. Tracey ignored it, instead turning to Ash and asking him about his latest travels. Perhaps Ash's enthusiasm for recounting his pokemon battles would drown out the terrible playing in the living room.

As the conversation deepened, Tracey eventually became oblivious to the noise and he began to have a good time. His fiancé had wandered off, but at least he wasn't bickering with Ash…

Eventually, Tracey began to wonder where Gary had disappeared to. He couldn't be in the living room because someone had turned on a Christmas cd on the stereo and Gary hated the music even more than Tracey did. He wandered through the large house and stopped in the doorway to the den, which was empty of people except for one. Gary sat at the second piano in the Oak house, fingers gracefully dancing across the keys. The piano in here was far grander than the small, worn one that May played. The room was distant from the holiday party taking place, perhaps being the reason why Gary had come to it.

A small smile curved Tracey's lips. Though he was rather talented, Gary rarely played piano and usually only did it in privacy since people seemed to always have song requests – something Gary particularly disliked. Tracey entered the room, slowly approaching his fiancé, who showed no sign of awareness of Tracey's presence. As he drew closer, Tracey noticed that he had his headphones on, presumably drowning out all auditory evidence of the Christmas party.

"Hey, you," Tracey said softly, placing a hand on Gary's back. He saw a slight smile appear on Gary's face but the younger of the couple gave no reply. "Hiding from everyone?"

Gary shook his head. "Escaping the Christmas music," he explained. He didn't so much as glance up from the black and white keys in front of him, not at all unusual for whenever he actually played.

Tracey sat down next to him on the long piano bench. "It sounds pretty," he observed. "Just fooling around, or are you actually playing a song?" When Gary didn't reply after a moment, Tracey reached over and gently pulled off his headphones. He tossed the headphones behind them and smiled at the glare the move elicited. Reaching over his lover's hands, he struck a random key. Surprisingly. Gary paused and didn't glare at him for the interruption.

"That was in key," Gary mused.

"is this?" Tracey asked, striking the next key. "Wait a second… Why does that sound familiar?" he asked, striking the two keys in succession a few times, trying to place it.

Gary shook his head again and laughed. "Nerd," he teased. "You're thinking of Jaws, it's a half-step, see?"

He reached over to play the correct notes for Tracey, who mimicked the notes after him. Tracey played the two notes in succession a few more times, pausing when Gary played a complex melody, ending on a chord that positioned his hand directly over Tracey's. Gary hadn't been able to resist… As cute as Tracey was when he played piano, Gary loved the expression of mild surprise combined with pride and admiration that graced Tracey's features whenever he played something particularly complex. Perhaps it was because of his ego, maybe it was just because it was an adorable look for Tracey.

"Showoff," Tracey muttered.

Gary simply squeezed his hand and leaned over to press a kiss against his cheek. "That was nothing."

He began to play again, his fingers resuming their dance across the black and white keys. He had always loved showing off as a child, and still did – to an extent – as an adult, but playing piano was vastly different and for that reason, he generally only played around Tracey. So much could be expressed through music, and Tracey seemed to understand that. Love, fear, confusion, sadness… All emotions that Gary was not fond of showing openly, yet music allowed him to do it easily. Maybe that was the reason he and Tracey both held such a profound dislike for Christmas music. It was shallow, with little meaning to it, except for the religious songs and neither of them was religious.

Tracey simply watched Gary play, silently picking up on the hidden meanings in the melodies. He could playfully interrupt without sparking any sort of ire, but he never did so when the song held a serious note, like this one did. He sensed many meanings in this particular song – happiness, hope, contentment, and love. Love seemed to be the overture, the overwhelming theme, though Tracey knew for a fact that he would be the only person to hone in on that.

The song ended, the notes beautifully complementing each other in a perfect harmony before fading smoothly into the silence of the room.

Nearly possessed by the music, the truth in the composition, Gary slipped an arm around Tracey's waist and kissed him suddenly. Tracey responded by melting into the kiss and returning it heartily. It was slow, deep, and passionate; so much like the music that Gary had just played.

They pulled back just enough for a breath of air after the kiss was over and Gary gave a small smile. "You like?" he asked, referring to the song rather than the kiss.

Tracey understood the question without further explanation and returned the smile. "It's so much better than Christmas music."


	5. Chapter Five: Partying

**The Twelve Dilemmas of Christmas**

The holiday season comes with good times and bad. It's important to overlook the dilemmas and enjoy the good times. Multiple shippings.

Warning: alcohol, vomit, and slash are all mentioned in this chapter. Not all at the same instant, but it's there.

x … x … x

_**Dilemma Five: Partying (Palletshipping)**_

If anyone had asked Gary what his favorite part of Christmas was as a child, he would have answered with no hesitation: presents. Undoubtedly, presents. These days, priorities were different, especially now that he was an adult. Now, the best part of the festivities was the partying. _Especially _since this was the one time in the year when he could actually party with his elder sister. It was always a good time when the bottles of booze opened up around May, the more bottles they went through, the more fun it was. Until someone threw up. It was usually a long time before that happened though, after all, it had been said for many, many years in Pallet, "never try to outdrink an Oak." When it came to the youngest two in the family, no one could come close and no one could have as much fun. Again, until someone threw up.

Of course, the first person to lose their buzz by emptying their stomach contents was the very person who had challenged them. It also happened to be Ash. Despite being completely trashed, Gary felt a bit bad for what had happened. Granted, he _had _warned Ash. Hell, the whole night had been spent giving his boyfriend warnings: don't try to keep up, you're going to puke, you can't outdrink an Oak, you _cannot_ handle that one-fifty-one, you are so _not_ doing a Jager Bomb with my sister. Gary had even spent the night giving his sister similar warnings: Ash hasn't had this much to drink before, Ash can't keep up with us, Ash isn't used to this, Ash _cannot_ do a line of shots with you.

Eventually, he was too drunk to remember to give the warnings. Instead, they got caught up in a game of Ring of Fire and then the two Oak siblings had lost all common sense in their petty drinking competitions. Poor Ash was essentially forgotten about. And then he epically threw up in the kitchen sink.

Somehow, Gary had shaken off the effects of the alcohol and dragged his boyfriend into the bathroom where he cleaned him up as best as he could.

"I warned you, Ashy," he muttered as he mopped Ash's face with a damp cloth. "I told you so many times…" By now, the alcohol was definitely wearing off.

Ash's eyes fluttered open, the chocolate orbs now blood-shot and unfocused. "Gary…" he croaked, swaying dangerously. Gary pushed him gently so that he was leaning against the side of the bathtub, carefully staying out of the way in case he puked again. "Gary, am I going to _die_?" Ash suddenly asked, placing an extreme and unnecessary emphasis on the word _die_.

Gary couldn't help but smile at the childish question. "No, Ash, you're not going to die. You're just going to be very sick for Christmas Eve," he explained, pushing Ash's messy hair out of his face.

"Really? You promise I'm not going to die?"

Suppressing a sigh, Gary sat next to Ash and slipped an arm around his waist, pulling the boy closer to him. "I promise, Ash," he said, ruffling his boyfriend's hair slightly. "I love you too damn much to let you leave me that easily."

When Ash didn't reply, Gary glanced down to see that his eyes were closed and he was snoring softly against his shoulder. Gary shook his head slightly, wincing at the alcohol-induced headache that was starting to form. Sick as he was, Ash was still adorable as he slept against him. Smiling at the cute sight, Gary leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes, letting the alcohol drag him off to slumber.

He would regret this all in the morning, if he remembered any of it, and he would likely be hungover until Christmas day. Despite all of that, in the moment, throughout the night of fun, he had to admit partying still reigned number one on his list of things to do at Christmas time.


	6. Chapter Six: Snow

**The Twelve Dilemmas of Christmas**

The holiday season comes with good times and bad. It's important to overlook the dilemmas and enjoy the good times. Multiple shippings.

I figure I should make a note about the ages of the characters for this chapter since they are still teens in this one while they've been in their twenties for the past few. I'd say Ash is the youngest at sixteen, and Tracey is the oldest at about eighteen, with Gary and Misty in the middle at seventeen.

x … x … x

_**Dilemma Six: Snow (Egoshipping)**_

It was not uncommon to have a bit of snow in Pallet on Christmas, usually only an inch or so on the ground, occasionally a bit more. This year, however, had been different. The weather had been absolutely crazy all year: spring was usually the longest season but had been cut short, summer was hotter than hell when it was usually fairly mild, autumn didn't even exist, and winter appeared early with a vengeance. The first snow fall had occurred a mere week into November and a blizzard had struck in the week prior to Christmas. The little town in southern Kanto was positively blanketed in snow this year.

It was actually kind of nice to have a white Christmas for once, once you got over having to shovel snow and bundle up in layers every time you took a step outside. The actual snowstorms and the blizzard in particular, were boring. Watching swirling snowflakes from a window lost its appeal after the first hour or so, and being stuck inside for days grated on everyone's nerves.

Now the weather had cleared and the snow was in asymmetric heaps around the town. The few teenagers in the town were all aching to be outside.

Slipping on his gloves, Gary grinned at Tracey, who stuck his tongue out in response. "You're going down," he teased the pokemon watcher.

"In your dreams, maybe," Tracey replied, wrapping a thick scarf about his neck. "Are you sure you're not going to be too cold?" He glanced over his friend's attire, sincerely doubting the hooded sweatshirt, no matter how thick it was, would help Gary much. Granted, he did have two shirts layered underneath, but the temperature outside was simply frigid.

"I'm fine," Gary retorted, irritably tugging on a hat to wear under the hood of his sweatshirt.

Behind him, the door opened suddenly, revealing Ash and Misty, both appropriately dressed for the weather. A gust of wind blew through the open front door and Gary shivered, feeling a bit underdressed for the occasion all of a sudden. He ignored the sensation, he would be fine once they were outside and running around. Hell, he was starting to feel warmer already as he looked at Misty.

Even totally bundled up, her athletic body hidden from view, his girlfriend looked gorgeous. Her long hair was down and contrasted brilliantly with the dark blue fabric of her coat. The hood and edges of the coat were lined with a bright blue faux fur that matched her eyes. Snug-fitting black jeans encased her long legs, making it difficult for Gary to pull his eyes away from her. Furry, lace-up boots that matched the coat completed the ensemble and Gary smiled when he saw them. They were her 'Viking boots,' as he often called them.

With her cheeks pink from the cold, she looked positively adorable. Noticing the way Gary was looking at her, Misty blushed and gave a small giggle as she slipped her hand into his. It had taken time to get used to, but she now enjoyed it when Gary's eyes roved over her form. It made her feel girly, sexy, and wanted – not at all the feelings that her former tomboy self had achieved.

As if to confirm that those feeling were warranted, Gary squeezed her hand and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. Ash made a gagging noise with a roll of his eyes and Tracey hastily covered up a laugh when Gary shot him a glare.

"Let's go!" Ash suggested cheerfully, hyper as ever and eager to release some of his pent up energy.

Gary and Misty both rolled their eyes at Ash's enthusiasm but followed Tracey and the younger trainer outside anyways. Ash ran ahead, scooping up a handful of snow in each hand as he went. He turned suddenly and threw one handful of snow at Gary and the other at Tracey.

"Snowball fight!"

Tracey laughed and kneeled down, quickly forming his own snowball while Misty chased Ash across the lawn. He was about to throw the ball as Ash ran past when a handful of snow hit him in the back of the head hard enough to knock him off-balance. Behind him, Gary laughed.

"I told you you were going down, Trace," Gary reminded him, already working on his next snowball, which went whizzing in Ash's direction a moment later.

Tracey hurled his ball at Gary, who ducked out the way at last minute. The ball sailed past Gary and hit Misty directly in the face, causing her boyfriend to laugh as he eyed the snowball that was in Misty's hand.

"Trying to sneak up on me, babe? I thought relationships required teamwork," he teased.

Misty grinned, "They do." He didn't know that Ash was currently sneaking up behind him. A second later, Gary was face down in the snow after Ash tackled him playfully. Misty ran forward, pouncing on her boyfriend and slipping her hands under his sweatshirt to tickle him relentlessly. Ash was quickly back on his feet, off chasing Tracey – he knew there would be hell to pay once Gary got back to his feet.

Sure enough, the moment Gary squirmed away from Misty, the simple snowball fight escalated into a full-blown war on Professor Oak's front lawn. The teens scrambled to develop their ammunition while simultaneous struggling to create barriers of some sort. In a matter of moments, Tracey had fashioned a low wall of snow while Ash hurled snowball after snowball in Gary and Misty's direction. In response, the young couple had worked together to fashion a primitive fort while dodging the snow being sent their way.

It didn't take long for Ash and Tracey to turn on each other – Gary and Misty had both known this would happen, thus they had teamed up against the other two boys. As the two boys sprayed each other with friendly fire, Gary crawled out of the fort and gestured for Misty to follow him. They ducked behind the shoddy fort and ran along to the side of the house, following it to the back yard and the ranch beyond. Misty was a bit confused as Gary led her to a small wooden building on one edge of the preserve.

Gary pushed the door to the building open and they were greeted with the sight of several Ponyta and Rapidash spread out in different pens. Misty smiled at the sight of the barn; she had never been in here before but liked it already. It wasn't as cold in here as the walls were insulated from the outside weather by stacks of hay. In the middle of the barn was a large open space with a small fire pit in the middle. A few bales of hay served as seats around the pit and Misty immediately made her way to one while Gary approached the Rapidash closest to the door. He opened the door to the pen and entered, speaking softly to the pokemon as he did so. After a moment, the horse stepped out of it's pen and walked over to the fire pit. A weak Flamethrower was all that was needed to have a small fire going.

Misty smiled again as the pokemon nudged her shoulder with it's snout, nuzzling her momentarily before heading back to the pen where it did the same thing with Gary. After a moment, Gary joined Misty in front of the fire. He took one of her hands and pressed a gentle kiss to it, making his girlfriend blush a bit.

"It's nice in here," Misty said after a moment. Gary only nodded in response, causing her to glance at him nervously; it was unusual for Gary to not respond verbally. The glance quickly revealed why he hadn't replied. Seeing how violently he was shivering, Misty sighed and slipped an arm about his waist, pulling him closer and leaning against him to share some of her warmth. "You should have worn a jacket," she chastised lightly, laughing softly as Gary rolled his eyes.

Though he inwardly regretted not actually wearing a jacket, Gary didn't complain about the cold. The fire felt nice, and being hidden in here with his girlfriend was a wonderful way to wrap up a snowball fight with his closest friends. Having Misty so close was enough to start warming him up as his heart beat a bit faster. Even so, this wasn't enough to warm him and Misty noticed that he was still shivering harshly. She wondered what she could do to make it better and an idea came to her after a moment.

She stood suddenly and positioned herself in Gary's lap, straddling his thighs. The surprise on Gary's face was evident and Misty couldn't help but laugh. "Trust me," she said quietly. Quickly kissing Gary's cheek, Misty pushed back the hood to his sweatshirt and unzipped it slightly. Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder, gently breathing warm air on his neck.

Gary barely suppressed a groan at the sudden action and shifted Misty in his lap so that she couldn't feel how hard he was quickly growing. Unsure of the reason behind his action, Misty frowned and pulled away slightly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Gary replied truthfully. "It feels good… In more ways than one," he admitted, making Misty laugh again.

Suddenly, her laughter faded and she realized something. Over the course of their three-month relationship, this was the first time they had ever been in a position like this. Sure they had kissed and hugged and even had several make-out sessions, but this was different. This was much closer. As she met Gary's eyes, she felt an overwhelming desire to kiss him, so she did. Ignoring the fact that Gary had purposely shifted her, she moved her body closer as she leaned in, straddling his waist and pressing her body against his and she kissed him. She didn't care how cold his lips felt or that she could feel exactly how much his teenage body loved this position, all that mattered right now was that they were close and their lips were working frantically against each other.

With teenage hormones running rampant, it was easy to get caught up in the kiss, the passion, and the closeness. Gary wrapped his arms around her and curled his fingers into her hair, dragging her, if possible, even closer. After a few moments, Misty broke the kiss with a mischievous grin and rested her head on Gary's shoulder, slowly moving her hands along his chest. Taking inspiration from his reaction to her breath on his neck, she dipped her head forward and dragged her tongue along his throat, eliciting a low moan as Gary tightened his grip on her. Misty giggled softly at the reaction.

From her position, she could see the door to the barn open and Ash and Tracey stop in the doorway when they saw the couple's position. Ash's normally sweet eyes narrowed at the sight but Tracey simply suppressed a laugh – he had figured that Gary and Misty had slipped off for a make-out session. Discreetly, Misty raised a hand and placed a finger to her lips to keep the boys quiet. She gave them a wink and Ash's eyes widened with glee as he caught on to her idea. He nodded and ignored the way Misty kissed Gary again while he slipped back into the yard to scoop up some more snow.

Misty pulled away from Gary slightly, smirking a bit as Ash quietly entered the barn. "You liked it out there in the snow, hon?" she asked, adding a sultry note to her voice.

Gary nodded slightly and pressed another kiss to her lips. "I like what happens after the snow a bit more."

He froze when he heard Ash's voice just behind him. "Really now?"

Suddenly, he was covered in snow. Misty laughed as she brushed the excess snow off herself – the sight of a shocked Gary covered in snow was simultaneously adorable and hilarious. "You've got to learn to watch your back when you're with me," she smiled.

Gary shook his head and leered at Ash. "No kidding."


	7. Chapter 7: School

**The Twelve Dilemmas of Christmas**

It's that time of the year again and I'm back! I'm not sure how many chapters I'll knock out this year but here's one to get us started.

The holiday season comes with good times and bad. It's important to overlook the dilemmas and enjoy the good times. Multiple shippings.

x … x … x

_**Dilemma Seven: School (Egoshipping)**_

Meticulous. It was about the only way to describe Gary Oak, as Misty was painfully reminded of as she watched her boyfriend review the flashcards for his marine pokemon ecology exam for the eighth time that day. He knew the material in and out, evidenced clearly by his grade in the grad school class as well as his research work. There was no way he could possibly fail the final for the class, yet his studious side had entirely taken over the enjoyable parts of his personality. The redhead had spent the last several hours of the evening wrapping Christmas presents in the living room – several of which were Gary's – all without her boyfriend even noticing. She knew he was just stressed, after all, this _was_ his last final before graduation, but she couldn't help but miss how wonderful his attention to detail was when it was focused on her.

Frustrated, Misty stalked across the living room and stood in front of the couch where Gary was sitting. She reached out and pulled the stack of flash cards out of Gary's hands.

"Come on, Mist, I need to study," Gary complained.

"No you don't. You already know this – you've aced everything in the class, your thesis is about this stuff, and you've already done three studies on it with Professor Birch and Professor Ivy."

Gary was quiet for a brief moment. Misty could tell he was trying to keep from getting annoyed with her; he normally wasn't the type to get frustrated with her but when it came to exams, his fuse became significantly shorter. "I'd still like to study," he finally retorted.

Misty rolled her eyes and picked up the card from the top of the stack. She had an idea. "Describe the symbiotic relationship between bioluminescent bacteria found in the coral reefs of the Orange Archipelago and the water pokemon Lanturn." She read flatly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Gary had written a paper about the exact topic in October – that time his attention to detail all but ruined her Halloween.

It took five minutes for him to finish giving his detailed answer and Misty actually did roll her eyes when he finally stopped talking. "Now, if you could just condense that to a few sentences instead of a few pages, you would be in great shape," she said.

"Thanks for the support, babe," Gary shot back sarcastically.

Misty grinned at the response; this was the Gary she loved – sarcastic as ever. Their constant bickering kept the two of them on their toes more than anyone else possibly could. Her grin turned into a smirk and she reached down to pull off one of her Stantler-clad Christmas knee-high socks. Catching onto her idea, Gary grinned as well.

"Next question."

Misty rolled her eyes again as she picked up the next flash card, tossing the first one to the rug next to her discarded sock. "Describe the multiple effects of the declined Sharpedo population on the coral reefs of the southern Hoenn region."

This time the response only took two minutes and was rewarded by the removal of the second sock. Within fifteen minutes, her hooded sweatshirt, long-sleeved shirt, and pajama shorts were scattered about the floor with several other flash cards. Gary finished the response he was on and smirked up at Misty as she stood over him.

She smiled in response and reached up to tug the hair tie from her long red hair. Gary's smirk faded slightly, obviously he was expected her to have removed one of the two revealing articles of clothing that still remained. At this point studying was not as predominant on his mind as it had been. Clearly his attention was on Misty, which had been her plan to begin with.

With a glance at the clock on the DVD player, Misty pulled one final card and tossed the rest over her shoulder. "You need to go to bed in an hour to get up in time for your exam tomorrow," she reminded Gary solemnly. "We only have enough time for one more card."

"And why is that, exactly? I thought you said I had an hour left."

"Gary, I've spent all day shopping, baking Christmas cookies, and wrapping presents. Yesterday I spent all day decorating the apartment. We could both use some fun to get rid of the holiday stress." A grin worked its way across Gary's face and Misty tossed the last card at him before slinking forward and straddling his lap. She smirked, leaning closer to him. "What day is Ash supposed to come to visit?"

Gary frowned, he should have known Misty would have done something like this. "I don't recall that being on any of the cards," he replied smoothly. He wrapped his arms around Misty's waist and slowly began moving them up her sides.

Misty grinned as she swatted away his hands. "Maybe you should have paid attention to what I told you earlier instead of reviewing all of these cards."

"Who says I didn't pay attention to you?" Gary asked with a smirk. His hands slid further up her sides before stopping at the strap of her red bra. "Ash comes in on the nineteenth," he said smoothly, unsnapping the first clasp on the garment. "Tracey comes in two days later," he continued, unsnapping the other clasp. "And Brock comes in on the twenty-third and he's only spending the night so he can spend time with his family," he finished, pushing the straps off of her shoulders and tossing the bra away from them.

Misty couldn't help the look of surprise that crossed her face. "I didn't realize you were paying attention," she murmured.

Gary smiled again and his hands slid back down his girlfriend's side to rest on her hips. "When it comes to you, I always pay attention," he replied. "By the way, thanks for the Legend of Zelda game," he added, starting to push down the edges of her one remaining article of clothing. "You should know better than to wrap Christmas presents with me around."


End file.
